Lara caught her husband’s hand and kissed it. “Thank you,” she said. “Let me go and find Anoush, and tell her so she will look after her sisters and brother for me.” Lara arose from her place by the fire and hurried off to find her eldest daughter.

Anoush was in her apothecary making a salve for toothache with goose grease and ground cloves. “Mama,” she said looking up. “When will you be going?”

Because of her daughter’s gift of second sight Lara was not at all surprise by the query. “I will leave now,” she said.

“I’ll watch over Zagiri, Marzina and Taj,” Anoush said. “I’m making this salve for him. He is going to suffer a toothache in a day or two. Bring my dearest love to Dillon. Tell him that he will regain his bride. I have seen it.”

“Have you been able to see where she is?” Lara asked, curious.

“Not really,” Anoush said. “I can tell you it is a world of dim or shaded sunlight.” She sighed. “But nothing more, really, except that Dillon’s bride is unhappy although she has female companions who seek to cheer her.”

Lara nodded. “I will tell your brother that when I see him. Perhaps it will help to narrow their field of search. Thank you for taking my place. Magnus says to stay as long as I am needed so I do not know when I will return.” She kissed her daughter upon both of her cheeks, and returned to the Great Hall where her husband and Kaliq awaited. “I am ready to go now,” she told them.

“I will return her as soon as I can,” Kaliq told the Dominus of Terah.

“I know you will,” Magnus Hauk said. How odd, he thought. For the first time in all the years he had known the great Shadow Prince he felt no jealousy toward him. He watched as Kaliq opened the golden tunnel that would serve as their means of transport.

Lara and the Shadow lord stepped into the tunnel and as they disappeared down its length it closed behind them. At its end they stepped into Dillon’s hall in Belmair. She saw her son sitting by his hearth, his head in his hands. Lara immediately went to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder as she said, “Why did you not call for me?”

He did not even look up, but his hand reached up to clasp hers. “Because I wanted it all perfect for you,” he said. “I wanted my kingdom at peace. I wanted Cinnia by my side. And nothing now is what I wanted it to be, Mother. My wife is gone, caught in carnal bondage to a Yafir lord who threatens the stability of all of Belmair.” He drew her around to face him, and Lara sat upon a settee opposite her son while Kaliq remained partially cloaked by the shadows within the hall on this winter’s night. Outside, a snowstorm howled relentlessly.

“Did I ever teach you, did Kaliq ever teach you, that everything could be perfect?” Lara demanded to know. “Belmair is your destiny, and you were not brought here to fail, my son. As for your wife, she will return with a greater appreciation for her husband.”

“The Belmairan dukes say I cannot take her back. That she is tainted by the Yafir,” Dillon told his mother.

“And what did you answer them?” Lara asked.

“I told them I would have her back no matter!” Dillon said.

“Then you are the son I raised you to be,” Lara replied. “Do not fret, my son. The winter weather has forced you to cease your search, I know. But the winter will soon be gone, and you will begin again. Anoush wanted you to know that Cinnia is in a place of dim and shaded light. She is sad, but surrounded by women who seek to cheer her. She could tell me nothing more, but I thought it a great deal considering the distance between our world and yours. Your sister sends you her love.”

“A place of dim and shaded light?” Dillon considered. “I cannot imagine where that would be. It cannot be inside the hills then. Perhaps within caves? But so far no sign of the Yafir have been found even in caves. Nidhug herself searched the mountain caves on Belia. You must tell her what you have told me, Mother. Perhaps she can help with that small clue. I will send for her tomorrow.”

“Where is she now?” Lara wanted to know.

“Within her own castle across the gardens,” he said.

“With my brother?” Lara said.

Dillon smiled a small smile. “My uncle is as enchanted with Nidhug as she is with him, Mother. Sometimes Cirillo takes the form of a male dragon, and other times he gives Nidhug a mortal female’s body. She has red hair, and breasts like melons, according to Kaliq.” The chuckle he emitted cheered Lara greatly although she sent a curious look toward the Shadow Prince, who now stepped forth into the light of the hall.

“You copulated with a dragon?” she said to him.

“They invited me to join them one evening in the beginning of their relationship,” he said, his bright blue eyes dancing mischievously. “Nidhug was in her mortal guise so it was actually a woman I fucked, and not a dragon.”

“And she has breasts like melons,” Lara said.

“Your brother seems to have a fascination with large breasts,” he replied, shrugging. “I must admit that the mortal body he has given Nidhug is most voluptuous.”

Lara laughed. “And you could never resist a voluptuous female, Kaliq, could you?” she teased him. “But Cirillo has not invited you to join them since?”

Kaliq shook his head. “Nay, he hasn’t.”

“Dillon, my son,” Lara spoke quietly. “I should like to remain with you for a time. But this is your kingdom, not mine. The decision is yours to make as to whether you want me as a guest or not.”

“Stay!” he said with more urgency in his voice than he had meant there to be. Then he flushed. “You do not think me a weakling?” he asked her.

“Nay, my son. I think you are a good king for Belmair, and will one day be a great king,” Lara said. “Now, I am exhausted for it was coming on evening in Terah when we departed.”

“I will have our steward, Britto, show you to a guest chamber, Mother,” Dillon said, and then he asked her, “Magnus? Does he know you are here? Will remain?”

“Aye, and he was insistent that I come. He sends you his affections and respect,” Lara told Dillon.

Britto, hearing his name, had come forward, and waited for the king’s instructions. He bowed to the king, and his guests.

“Britto,” Dillon said, “this is my mother, Lady Lara. She is the Domina, the queen, of her own land, Terah. She will be staying with me. Will you see she has the best guest rooms we have to offer, and tell Anke she is to serve my mother until my own queen comes home.”

“If Your Majesties will grant me a little time to see the Domina’s quarters prepared properly, I shall see to it. And I will tell Anke of your desire, my lord,” Britto said as he bowed again. “I will prepare a place for the Lord Kaliq as well.” He bowed to them once more, and then hurried from the hall.

“A well-trained man,” Lara noted. “I am pleased to see your servants know their duties. Would you like me to oversee your hall while Cinnia is away?” She spoke as if the young queen of Belmair were off visiting, and not enslaved in some secret location.

He nodded. “I would be grateful, and so, I suspect, will Britto.”

Lara settled into her son’s home. She was given a lovely apartment of rooms facing both south and west. Anke was happy to serve her, and Britto relieved to have a woman once again in charge of the household. The day after her arrival Lara met Nidhug, and the two females became friends immediately. Cirillo was not certain he wanted his older sister being friends with his lover. His passion for the dragon was far greater than any he had ever felt for any female before. He did not like sharing her. But it would seem he had no choice, and when he discovered that Lara had no prejudice as he sensed in his mother, he became less distrustful of the relationship Nidhug and Lara had forged.

The winter passed, and spring came quickly to Belmair. Having his mother in the castle seemed to balance his emotions, and Dillon felt his strength returning. The search for the Yafir began again. One afternoon a small procession wound its way up the hillside to the royal castle. Their horses clumped across the drawbridge, coming to a stop in the cobbled courtyard.

Dismounting, Duke Dreng said to the servant who came from the castle, “Inform King Dillon that Duke Dreng is here with family.”

Britto, looking out from the main door, recognized the duke, and turning, ran back into the family hall where Lara sat weaving. “My lady, Duke Dreng has just arrived unannounced. I recognized his wife with him, and two young women, as well as several servants. What shall I do? Where shall I put them?”

“Have the servants prepare one of the larger apartments. We will put him and his family, for the young women will be his granddaughters, I suspect, in a single suite. Then run and warn the king. Duke Dreng should not be left waiting in the courtyard. I will go and greet him, and lead him into the Great Hall,” Lara said.

Britto dashed off as Lara arose, smoothing her long sky-blue gown, and tucking a stray lock beneath her gold caul. Leaving the hall, she hurried out into the courtyard.

“My lord duke,” she said as she approached Dreng and his family.

“I am Lara, Domina of Terah in the world of Hetar. I am the king’s mother. Welcome to Belmair. Would that you had warned us of your coming your welcome would certainly have been a more gracious one.” She smiled at him, and then turned to his wife. “You will be the lady Amata. My son remembers your hospitality fondly.” She hooked her arms through Amata’s. “Come along. We shall go into the hall. I have sent word to the king of your arrival. Is there some purpose to this visit?”

She led them from the courtyard and into the Great Hall of the castle, where the servants came immediately bearing trays holding goblets of sweet wine.

“You are aware of the tragedy that has befallen Belmair’s queen, Domina,” Duke Dreng began, and as Lara turned and fixed him with a cold gaze, he stopped.

“My lord, I can only hope you have not come to attempt to persuade my son to reject Cinnia when she returns. It would be a dreadful mistake on your part,” Lara said.

“Domina, the king cannot take her back. She is defiled by the Yafir. Belmair’s queen must be above reproach. Sooner or later he must choose another queen,” Dreng responded. “I have brought two of my granddaughters, Lina and Panya, for his consideration. He need not choose now, but sooner than later he must.”

Lara shook her head. “Are you so dense that you do not understand what this is really about, my lord? It is not that the Yafir stole Cinnia. Or that the Yafir have been stopped from stealing more of Belmair’s females. This is about the survival of both Belmair and the Yafir. You are at war, my lord, but you refuse to recognize it!”

The duke of Beltran was very surprised by Lara’s words. He stared at her as if attempting to see through her. She was very beautiful, and looked far too young to be the king’s mother, he thought.

“You are too ambitious, my lord,” Lara remarked “and it is unfortunate.”

The young king entered the hall. Coming up to his mother, he kissed her cheek.

What have we here? he spoke to her in the silent language of magic. Two fair prime virgins for my delectation? I can see you have already discovered that Dreng is a fool. He turned. “My lord duke, welcome to Belmair. Lady Amata, welcome.” He kissed her hand with a smile. “And who have we here, my lord?”

“Two of my granddaughters,” Dreng said pridefully. “This is Lina.” He pulled the girl forward. She had dark gold hair and light blue eyes. “And this is Panya.” The second girl had rich auburn hair and gray eyes.

“My ladies.” Dillon bowed politely, but touched neither of the girls.

There was a long silence that Lara mercifully broke, feeling sorry for the women. “Let us sit by the fire. It is spring, I know, but the late afternoons grow chill. Was your trip pleasant? You have sailed from Beltran, I assume.”

“You know our geography then, Domina,” Lady Amata said.

“I have been with my son for much of the winter, and have spent my time learning all I could of Belmair,” Lara told them.

“You will remain?” Dreng asked.

“Until my daughter-in-law is found and brought safely home,” Lara replied. “We have narrowed the search as you know.” She smiled.

“To some place shaded and dim?” Dreng said scornfully. “It is hardly a clue that will lead to any success, I fear.”

“I must differ with you, my lord duke,” Lara said. “It eliminates the interior of the hills. The caves will be searched more carefully, especially those with access to light.”

“How goes the search on Beltran?” Dillon asked the duke.

“We’ve finished searching. There is nothing to be found,” the duke said brusquely. “We had fields to plant and deer herds to cull. We have done what we could. Why do you persist in seeking Fflergant’s daughter, Majesty? She is gone. The Yafir have, thanks to you and your allies, been stopped in their tracks. They can steal no more of our women. Our women are protected.”